


4. Rivalry

by IvyNyx



Series: One Hundred Descendants [2]
Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10070528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyNyx/pseuds/IvyNyx
Summary: First Carlos had to watch Jay and Audrey together, then Jay and Jordan. He was used to having an unfair disadvantage, but trying to rival girls to get Jay’s attention was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Luckily for him Jay already likes his freckled friend, it hits him just how much shortly after Carlos decides to join cheer squad complete with short skirt and pom poms.





	

First Carlos had to watch Jay and Audrey together, then Jay and Jordan. He was used to having an unfair disadvantage, but trying to rival girls to get Jay’s attention was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Luckily for him Jay already likes his freckled friend, it hits him just how much when Carlos decides to join cheer squad complete with short skirt and pom poms.

Carlos stretched out on his bed and turned his headphones up, eyes focused on his book. Jay and Audrey were laying on Jay's bed, Carlos was fairly sure they were just making out, but he intended to stay lost in his own world, just in case they were doing more. The Isle didn't teach things like decency, but Auradon did, Carlos often enjoyed watching Mal, Jay and even Evie get reminded that they needed to back off a little in public. Carlos didn't care one bit, he was used to his friends hooking up with random people, usually to steal something, sex made a great distraction. 

On the Isle Evie always claimed he was just too young to have an interest in their antics. He laughed, he had an interest alright, in the guys. He wasn't about to tell his friends that Jay was more his speed than Evie. Once they got to Auradon they found same-sex couples were accepted, he still wasn't in a hurry to tell his friends anything. Watching Jay with Audrey though made his blood boil, in all the wrong ways. 

The first time Jay had pulled Audrey down on his bed to cuddle Carlos had rolled his eyes and went back to his homework. Then the little voice in the back of his head had to open its big mouth and point out how comfortable Audrey looked, how nice he knew it was to lay in Jay's arms. He didn't get to often in Auradon, but on the Isle he and Jay often slept next to each other, usually ending up cuddling in the night. He quickly left the room, deciding Dude could use a walk. Outside he took a deep breath and lounged on the edge of the tourney field, his own thoughts racing around. He'd always noticed Jay. When they'd ended up as friends he never expected to actually like Jay. But he did, no matter how he looked at it, he had a crush on the thief and he sure as hell couldn't do anything about it. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Dude licking his face. He reached up to scratch his ears, “I'm so fucked” he muttered to the dog. A bark answered him.

Carlos felt the mattress dip next to him and looked up from his book, Jay was sitting next to him, so he pulled his headphones off.  
“Nothing like getting totally lost in your own world,” Jay said with his usual grin.  
“Yeah, well I'm still not Audrey's biggest fan.”  
“You should give her a chance. If nothing else you have dancing in common” Jay said.  
Carlos snorted but didn't bother answering. He knew Jay wanted him and Audrey to get along, but the best he could do was ignore the girl entirely.  
“Oh fine, she's gone now anyway, so homework?” Jay asked  
Carlos smiled and nodded before moving to the couch. Jay followed and sat right next to him so their legs touched. The next hour was spent with Carlos finishing his homework while trying to explain things to Jay.  
“Oh for fuck's sake, give me” Carlos finally said grabbing the books from Jay. He moved his pen to his left hand and wrote out the answers, grinning at how similar the writing was.  
“Thanks, now how does that help me on the test?”  
“Sit next to me and steal the answers, duh” Carlos laughed, they may be in Auradon but they weren't still perfectly good.  
“Fuckin' genius,” Jay said while turning on the TV.  
“Saves your ass,” Carlos said twisting on the couch so he was leaning on the arm of the couch, he draped his legs over jays with a smirk, he figured Jay would shove him off, but the shove never came.

Jay flipped through the channels, once again Carlos was going to save his ass with school work. Jay felt Carlos shift and put his legs in his lap he rolled his eyes but didn't bother moving him. Jay watched as Carlos arched his back over the arm of the couch causing a series of popping noises to sound. Carlos sat back up, leaned against the back of the couch and closed his eyes, he started to drift off to sleep when he felt Jay's hand rub along his calf. By some miracle he didn't move, he didn't know if Jay was doing it on purpose or not, but he couldn't say he honestly cared. He drifted in and out of sleep, Jay's hand seemed to move at random times making Carlos think it had to be a reflex.

Jay watched Carlos drift off to sleep, he knew his hand was rubbing Carlos's leg, at first he had been an absent thought, but Carlos didn't seem to mind and the feel of jeans under his palm was calming, even if he didn't know why. He heard Carlos's breathing even out and slow, he knew the other boy wouldn't wake up for much at this point. He was amazed the boy had fallen so soundly asleep on the couch. He moved his legs and slid off the couch, smiling when the other boy didn't even shift in his sleep. Jay thought about leaving him on the couch but instead walked over and pulled the blanket on Carlos's bed down, he scooped him up with ease and put him in the bed, tossing the covers over him. He slipped into his own bed and hit the lights.

Carlos stretched out, he'd slept like the dead. He was surprised to find himself in his own bed, last he knew he was napping on the couch. Jay must have carried him to his bed. A look at the other boy's bed made him smile, Jay was still asleep, the blankets nearly over his head. A glance at the clock told him their alarm would go off soon, so he slid out of bed to the bathroom. Sure enough right after he shut the door it started beeping, quickly followed by Jay cursing at it.  
“Damn it 'Los hurry up, I gotta pee” Jay whined from the other side of the door. Carlos pulled the door open, he was brushing his teeth and knew from years on the Isle Jay had no shame whatsoever. Sure enough, Jay headed straight for the toilet without sparing Carlos a second glance.

Twenty minutes later both boys were dressed, sitting outside the school waiting for their friends. Mal got there first, two cans of soda in her hands, she handed one to Carlos who took it with a smile. He and Mal had gained a slight addiction to caffeine, but both hated coffee so they tended to drink soda.  
“Got any food?” Jay asked.  
Mal rolled her eyes and threw him a package of pop-tarts, producing two more packs, for her and Carlos. “You know we're not on the isle anymore, you can get food on your own”  
“I know but you like caring for us,” Jay said laying in the grass, smirking when Mal chucked a can of soda from her purse at him. They had almost an hour until classes started, early in their Auradon lives they'd gotten up and gone to class, but the four of them found they liked spending some time together in the morning before class. At first, it gave them a chance to plot, now they just enjoyed hanging out.

Evie, Ben, and Doug walked up together, the boys sat on the grass, while Evie sat on Doug's lap. Mal handed her a pop tart and a soda.  
“What about us?” Ben asked, he didn't actually expect anything but every so often he liked to tease his girlfriend.  
“Sorry, not my job,” Mal smirked.  
“What's not your job, being civil?” Audrey asked coming up on the side of them and sitting on Jay's lap before kissing him. Carlos pretended to barf into his soda can, while Mal snarked back, “No, sucking face with Jay”.  
Evie and Ben laughed, there was less venom between Audrey and the isle kids, but Mal and she were still far from friends.

Carlos kept his nose to his keyboard, Jay and Audrey were arguing behind him and he wanted to be invisible. He hated yelling, one of many issues he had left from the Isle. Audrey was yelling at Jay and Carlos couldn't help but notice Jay was growling more than yelling and he knew it was because he was in the room. Carlos had a feeling the relationship was about to end, truthfully he was amazed they'd lasted this long, nearly three months was a record for Jay in any relationship. He was enjoying hearing the fight, but he didn't want Jay to hold back on account of him, he pulled his headphones on and maxed out the volume, knowing Jay would hear the music. Sure enough a split second later he heard Jay yelling, just a faint noise over his music.

Carlos flinched when he felt Jay pull his headphones off his head, he didn't mean to, but reflexes were a bitch.  
“Thanks for putting those on, dunno how much longer I was gonna be able to keep my big mouth in check”  
“No biggie, ya'll over or just needed to yell a little?”  
“As dead as we all wish your mother was,” Jay said with a smile.  
Carlos chuckled, “ you should tell Mal, I think she'd like to congratulate you on coming to your senses”  
“Tomorrow morning works,” Jay said with a yawn, “I think I'll sleep under the window tonight”

Carlos looked up at Jay for the first time, he didn't look upset, but usually if one of them decided to sleep on the floor it's because they were upset or scared, or in Evie's case homesick.  
“Mind company?” Carlos said  
“Figured, you've been jumpy as hell lately,” Jay told him while moving to pull the blankets off the beds.

Mal shoved the door to the boy's room open, they'd failed to meet up with them and it was now ten minutes to class, Ben followed her in. She was all set to scream the roof down when she noticed them laying under the window on the floor still sound asleep. Carlos was wrapped up in Jay's arms, his head tucked under Jay's chin. Any anger she had at them for oversleeping left, sure Carlos wasn't covered in bruises and cuts but the way they were laying brought her right back to the Isle. She couldn't count how many mornings she'd found them just like this, laying on the floor of Carlos's tree house.  
She froze, then a moment later Ben pulled her arm and lead her back to the door.  
“Let them sleep,” he said as the door clicked softly shut, “I'll tell Fairy Godmother they're not feeling well”.  
“Why?” Mal asked her brows furrowed together, sure she was unsettled, but there was no reason for Ben to be.  
“They were sleeping on the floor, that isn't the outcome of feeling good” Ben told her.  
“Oh, whatever, lucky asses,” Mal said pretending she was mad they got to miss a day, but Ben had a point if one of them slept on the floor things were usually pretty messed up.

Carlos woke up first, all he noticed was how warm he was. That was rare, he was usually freezing even in summer, then he realized he was on the floor. One eye cracked open showed him he was curled up in Jay's arms, he let out a soft sigh and nuzzled against Jay's neck, the older boy still asleep. He had no intention of moving until Jay woke up, both because he didn't want to and he knew movement would wake Jay up. He didn't know what time it was but their alarm didn't go off and no one had come to get them so it was either early or hell froze over and they were being allowed to skip classes.

Jay woke up slowly before he even opened his eyes he knew he was holding someone, that wasn't exactly new. Cracking his eyes open he saw Carlos's distinctive hair and smiled, at least he wouldn't need to deal with any female dramatics before he was fully awake. He stretched his arms high over his head, Carlos rolled away from him to lay on his back.  
“Been up long?” Jay asked.  
“Nah, maybe ten minutes, was too warm to move”  
“Time is it?” Jay asked  
“I dunno, look at a clock,” Carlos said, still laying on his back his arm over his eyes.  
“Mal's gonna kill us, it's almost lunch time”  
“She shoulda came to get us,” Carlos said while grabbing the edge of their blanket pile and pulling it over himself.  
“The hell are you doing? You look like a Carlos burrito”  
“I'm cold,” Carlos said pulling the blankets up closer to his nose.  
Jay laughed, “I have no idea how you survived on the Isle”.  
“Sheer dumb luck” Carlos muttered.  
Jay shifted and slipped under the blankets while pulling Carlos back against him.  
“What the hell it's been less than five minutes are you cold blooded or something?”  
“Maybe, you've met my mother”.  
Carlos wanted to say having Jay hold him on purpose rather than a sleep induced snuggle was weird, but he was doing his best not to think at all. 

Mal stood from the lunch table, Jay and Carlos still hadn't shown up, “I'm gonna go check on the boys”  
“Want me to come along?” Evie asked.  
“Might be a good idea, I have no idea what I'm walking into and we all know comfort isn't my thing” Mal admitted, making Ben and Doug laugh. Evie followed her to the boys' dorm, Mal shoved the door open and froze, Evie slipped around her and bit her lip. Both boys were still laying on the floor, they'd moved but not much from the last time Mal saw them. They were still asleep, though, which made Mal frown, neither of them was known for sleeping in.  
“Any idea why they're on the floor?” Evie asked.  
“No, probably the same reason they're still asleep, though,” Mal said.  
“Should I wake them up?” Evie asked she was unsure since the boys didn't usually sleep in.  
“We need to find out what the hell is going on, so yeah,” Mal said, she couldn't wake them up worth a damn, anytime she tried Jay would hit and Carlos would hide.

Evie sighed and knelt next to Jay letting her hand trail softly up and down his arm and spoke quietly, “Boys, come on, time to wake up”. Predictably Carlos woke up first and elbowed Jay in the side, “dude, girls are here” he said. Jay groaned but opened his eyes.  
“So why the hell are you two cuddling on the floor?”  
“Not cuddling, he was cold,” Jay said avoiding the bigger question.  
“And the rest of that” Evie asked sitting next to him.  
“He finally dumped Slutdrey,” Carlos said with a small smile. Jay started laughing, “dude I needed that name yesterday!” he said.

“What the fuck” Mal mouthed at Evie, the blue haired girl shook her head. She'd been expecting Jay to be a little more broken up over his break up.  
“Wanna tell us what happened?” Evie ventured.  
“She was giving me shit about how much time I spend with you guys, meanwhile she's always with those cheer things and half the tourney team. We were arguing, then 'Los put on his headphones so I yelled back at her, apparently, she didn't like that so she ended the relationship like that was suppose to hurt me. We're on the floor cuz I noticed 'Los has been jumpy as hell lately and figured a night of familiar would help, considering Evie woke us up and he's not in the closet it musta worked.” Jay told them. Evie and Mal shared a look at the comment about Carlos being in the closet, they had their suspicious, but that was a conversation for another day.

“Okay, well me and Ben came in and checked on ya this morning, he decided to give you guys the day off, told Fairy Godmother you weren't feeling good since you were sleeping on the floor,” Mal told them  
“Sometimes Auradon is helpful,” Carlos said, he still hadn't moved away from Jay, he knew the older boy would get up sooner or later.  
“Mhmm, you guys gonna get up today?” Mal agreed.  
“We've been up to pee, other than that, no I think I'm good here,” Jay said letting his eyes drift closed again.  
“A day off,” Carlos said trailing off. “I think I'll stay here too” he finally finished his thought.  
“Lucky bastards” Mal griped standing up.  
“If you guys need us text,” Evie said looking at the boys. The both waved her off.  
Carlos reached up to grab his book off the window ledge as the girls left. He flipped to his bookmark and started reading. Jay shifted and put his head on Carlos's shoulder.  
“Reading along?” Carlos asked absently still focused on the book.  
“Mhmm” Jay hummed.  
“Lemme know when you hit the end of the page,” Carlos said, he knew he read faster than Jay.  
Jay tapped his finger on Carlos's hip, smirking when the other boy instantly turned the page. They'd read together even back on the Isle, Carlos had been the one to teach Jay to read, Jafar couldn't see the use in that particular skill.

“We should probably get up for dinner,” Carlos said, stretching out to put his book back.  
“Oh fine, I know I'll have to deal with whatever lies Audrey's spreading sooner or later,” Jay said.  
“Seriously, that's why you spent the day here, just smirk and half the girls forget how to talk,” Carlos told him laughing.  
“I know, I'm just used to the Isle where no one cared what I did,” Jay said.  
“I cared, and Mal and Evie, remember when Hook made an ass of you?” Carlos asked  
Jay laughed, “Yeah, fucking homemade taser, I still have no idea how you did that”  
“Just think of what I could do with all the stuff I can get in Auradon.”  
“We could be back on the Isle before dessert,” Jay said with a smile, he knew Carlos wouldn't do anything to actually send them back to the Isle, but the youngest of their group could make Audrey miserable if he wanted to.  
“I'd never get us sent back, at least not from doing anything to Audrey; she ain't worth it,” Carlos said.  
“I was kidding, come on,” Jay said standing up.

Both boys walked down to the cafeteria for dinner, they got their food and sat with Mal. Carlos took one bite before he noticed what the commotion in the corner had been. He almost choked on his food, “Mal you evil bitch” he said laughing.  
Mal shrugged with a small smirk, “she was trying to say Jay was cheating, we all know if he was he wouldn't have hidden it”.  
Sitting in the corner surrounded by her friends was Audrey, her hair in an impressive mohawk, the word 'liar' clearly dyed into the side in bright red.  
“I love magic,” Jay said with a smile, “but that's not a great reason, what else did she do?” Jay knew Mal, she wouldn't risk trouble over something that little.  
“It wasn't the cheating, it's the who that pissed Mal off,” Evie said when Mal didn't elaborate.  
“Someone gonna fill us in or shall I go ask around?” Carlos asked. Mal and Evie shared a look before shaking their head no. Carlos rolled his eyes and stood up, he figured that would make them talk, it didn't so he sat back down.  
“Okay, which of us is Jay supposedly fuckin',” Carlos asked without so much as a smile.  
Evie coughed on her bite of apple pie, Mal stared at him, Jay laughed.  
“I'll bet everything I've ever stolen that it's you, won't be the first time she's said it,” Jay told Carlos.  
“What?” Mal and Evie asked at once, Carlos snorted out a laugh.  
“She sorta walked in one of the nights we'd slept on the floor and jumped to conclusions. I guess in Auradon two guys sleeping in their boxers on the floor is suspicious” Jay said.  
“You shoulda told me, I woulda put her mind at ease,” Carlos said.  
Mal and Evie looked at him, his smile was damn near feral, “why do you look like my mother?” Mal asked.  
“I was deciding who would kill me first, Jay or Audrey” Carlos said leaving off why they'd wanna kill him.  
“I don't think Jay would kill you, it takes too long to break in a new best friend,” Evie said with a smile.  
“Hell yes, it does!” Jay agreed.  
Carlos smiled, if they knew his idea to get killed was kissing Jay he'd probably have a much different opinion.  
“Oh well, she's gone now, so no worries” Carlos said.

Carlos walked into Evie and Mal's room letting the door slam shut.  
“What's gotten into you?” Mal asked from her bed, Carlos walked over to sit next to Evie.  
“Jay and Jordan, it's worse than Audrey ever was, Jordan has the morals of Harriet,” Carlos said his voice a clear whine.  
“You've never cared about who Jay hooked up with before. Got a thing for the genie?”  
“Not unless she magics up a penis,” Carlos said without thinking.  
“You owe me an outfit!” Mal said triumph clear on her face.  
“I knew I would,” Evie said with a smirk, “I like making you outfits though so it was a win-win bet”  
“Wait what the hell were you betting on,” Carlos asked confused.  
“You being gay sweetie,” Evie said with a laugh.  
Carlos froze and tried to think what the hell gave them that idea then he realized exactly what he'd said.  
“Fuck” he muttered softly, this was not how this was supposed to go.  
“So how long have you had a crush on Jay?” Mal asked, moving to sit on Evie's bed. Carlos groaned and pulled his knees up to hide his face, he knew he was bright red.  
“That wasn't an answer,” Evie said unhelpfully.  
“Fuck if I know” Carlos mumbled into his knees, he was not telling that story.  
“I'll trade you the story for my silence, otherwise I'm walking over there right now,” Mal said.  
“You wouldn't!” Carlos said looking up, Mal tried to ignore how huge his eyes were, how honestly scared he looked.  
“I would,” she said, looking away from him, she hated scaring him, but this was important.

“I was only like ten, so I didn't know what it was then but I always felt different about Jay, I thought it was just friends until I met you guys, then it really clicked,” Carlos said hoping that would be enough.  
“That's a start, I didn't know you knew him at ten.”  
“No one knew, we'd never been close but we always sorta knew each other. He used to let me steal food from Jafar, and I used to let him score scraps from my mom of fur and shit” Carlos said.  
“That sneaky bastard” Mal said, forgetting that she wanted more of the story.  
“So when'd you fall for the idiot?” Evie asked, putting them back on track.  
“Swear that you'll never tell this story until he tells you if he ever tells you,” Carlos said, waiting to get two nods before he continued.  
“When I was ten he came up to help me in my tree house, I was gonna do his homework for him in exchange for an extra set of hands. While he was helping I sorta accidentally discovered he couldn't read. So I taught him” Carlos said, “It was the first time we'd ever really spent any time together and I sort of decided he was a friend, but when I met you guys I realized what I feel for him is different than friendship.”

“So how are we gonna break up him and Jordan?” Evie asked, an innocent smile on her face.  
Two heads turned to look at her.  
“What, you're both thinking it!”  
“No, I'm not,” Carlos said.  
“Nah, I was just gonna lock him and 'Los in a small room together,” Mal said.  
“Horseshit,” Evie told them.  
“Look, I'm not doing shit to screw up his relationship, I'm just gonna live my life and hope at some point in that life we both get drunk and make out in a closet” Carlos said.  
“I could arrange that,” Mal said with a gleam in her eye.  
“Don't you dare!” Evie protested.  
“What she said, just leave it. And expect to see more of me now that you know why I'm escaping” Carlos said, “I'm gonna go see if it's clear yet.”  
“Want me to go check?” Evie offered  
“Nah, the worst case includes a naked Jay, I'll risk it,” Carlos said laughing as he walked to the door.

“Holy fucking shit” Mal said softly as the door clicked shut.  
“What?”  
“The hell do you mean what? Carlos has a thing for Jay. How in the hell is that not a holy fucking shit moment?”  
“I think it's cute”  
“Innocent incarnate falls for evil incarnate. Yeah, adorable” Mal said.  
“Jay wouldn't hurt him” Evie pointed out.  
“No, Jay's already hurting him and as usual he's hiding it. Think for half a minute how you'd feel in Carlos's spot. Not only does he watch all the flirting shit first hand, he and Jay are always touching and shit, that's a fine line he's trying not to cross all the time”  
“I'd...”Evie trailed off, seriously thinking about it. “I couldn't do it”.  
“Exactly, so how do we help this?”  
“We don't let his plan of leave it go. He'll break sooner or later, or he'll convince Jay to get wasted and have fun anyway” Mal said.

Carlos walked into his room grateful that Jordan appeared to be gone, Jay was laying on the bed in boxers, his hair wet from a shower. Given what he'd just been discussing with Mal and Evie he would have been happy with almost any other view. Luckily he managed to get his clothes and go to the bathroom before blushing. With a sigh Carlos leaned his head against the cool wall of the shower, he needed a plan, they were in Auradon for the long haul. With a sigh he decided first up was quitting tourney he hated the sport, no amount of Jay was making it worth it, so that had to go. Next was finding something he did like. Cheerleading might be fun, he didn't like yelling much but the flips and things he would enjoy. Not to mention Jay seemed to date cheerleaders, so he'd still see plenty of his friend. Rinsing off he made up his mind, tourney was first to go.

Walking down to Tourney practice he was trying to keep his breathing steady, he didn't want to tell Jay he was quitting, he was going to do it and they could talk later. Asking Coach for a word was difficult, but he managed, Coach let him go with minimal issue, he was better than he had been but tourney was not his specialty. With a soft sigh he walked over to the gathering cheerleaders, he'd never paid much attention to who their coach was but anything was better than Coach himself. 

“Hey, there!” voice called out to him as he neared the group of stretching girls.  
“Umm, hi,” Carlos said trying not to shuffle his feet, “I was wondering if guys could join the team”  
“No rules against it, if you can keep up and don't mind the uniform,” the woman told him.  
Carlos looked up, sleeveless, short skirt, he could work with that, “I think I'll manage just fine”.  
“I like you!” she declared with a smile “I'm Jasmine, nice simple, informal. Why don't you warm up and we'll see what you can do”  
“Okay!” Carlos said walking over next to a girl with black hair in a high ponytail.  
An hour later he'd gone through every gymnastic trick he knew, Jasmine looked as if Christmas had come early to her.  
“You are amazing!” she gushed. Audrey had given him dirty looks all practice, it seemed to intensify upon hearing that.  
“Thanks, being tiny helps sometimes” Carlos smiled  
“You wouldn't happen to know your size would you?” Jasmine asked looking unsure. Carlos laughed and told her his size then added, “Skirts aren't that new, Evie makes me model her stuff quite a lot”.  
“As I said before, I like you! Even in Auradon the rest of the guys aren't that open minded”.  
“No point in hiding, after the Isle I doubt anyone here can do much to me,” Carlos said with a laugh.

Jasmine was saved from answering by Jordan jogging over to him, already changed back into her regular clothes.  
“Carlos! I had no idea you could do that, Jay mentioned dancing but not gymnastics.”  
“Yeah, I gotta go meet up with him, he'll be pissed off,” Carlos told her.  
“You guys are capable of being mad at each other?”  
“Oh yeah,” Carlos said with a laugh, “we've even gotten into fist fights before, not my best idea”.  
Jordan laughed and started walking with him, “I'll tag along, I told Jay I'd meet him after practice, I doubt he expected whatever you did”.  
“Quit tourney to join cheer,” Carlos said. Jordan stopped walking to look at him.  
“I thought that was just you goofing off for the day, you're really going to join cheer?”  
“Sure, I hate tourney, love doing flips. Besides, it's always fun to do something you're actually good at.”  
“Gonna wear a skirt too?” Jay asked appearing out of nowhere.  
“I swear I'm gonna tie a bell to you!” Jordan complained.  
“Doesn't work, he takes it off, and yeah skirt too,” Carlos said with a grin.  
“I have enough magic to keep it on him,” Jordan said with a laugh.  
“Hang around him a while, he can't sneak up on me or Mal anymore,” Carlos told her  
“What about Evie?”  
Carlos started laughing, Jay shoved him before telling Jordan, “She screams and occasionally stabs”.  
“Sounds more like Mal,” Jordan said.  
“No Evie and Carlos are the dangerous ones, Mal just growls a lot,” Jay said.  
“Mhmm, I'm gonna nap, I haven't show off that much since I had to escape Hook”  
Jay laughed while Jordan looked confused.  
“See ya later man,” Jay said, Jordan waved him off looking as if she was still trying to puzzle out what had happened with Hook.  
“You won't guess,” Jay said seeing her expression  
“So tell me, he seems so damn innocent” Jordan complained.  
“Hooks daughter had started dating me as a joke and made an ass of me; Carlos rigged up a home made taser and returned the favor, her father was displeased.”  
“Remind me not to get on his bad side,” Jordan said with a laugh, she hadn't expected Carlos to have a mean streak he was always nice to everyone.

Carlos stretched out on Evie's bed; neither girl was in the room, but since Jay was meeting with Jordan he knew he didn't want to be in his own room. He'd gotten changed and went to visit the girls. The door opened and Mal walked in.  
“So I hear the cheer squad has a new member”  
Carlos could hear the laughter in her voice.  
“Mhmm, I hear some boy was stupid enough to join up” Carlos smiled over at her.  
“I don't know about stupid, we all know Jay has a thing for their uniform,” Mal told him  
Carlos groaned, “that wasn't the plan. I'm just sick of tourney. If I wanted to get beat up I'd have stayed on the Isle”.  
“And you in skirt dress thing won't make people beat you up?”  
“We're in Auradon, probably not,” Carlos said, that was the least of his concerns.  
“Good point, now why are you here?”  
“Jay, Jordan, barf” Carlos said emotionless. Mal started laughing, that's when Evie walked in.  
“What has her dying, I didn't think she knew how to laugh like that” Evie said with a look at their purple haired friend.  
“Carlos quit tourney, joined cheer and he's using your bed because Jay and Jordan make him ill,” Mal said between chuckles.  
“You actually did it!” Evie squealed in excitement.  
“You planned this?”  
“Not planned, just told E I was sick of tourney, she suggested cheer”  
“Evil” Mail smirked.  
“You're not the only one that can plot, besides he's better than Audrey and Jordan at it.” Evie laughed.  
“Seriously?” Mal said raising an eyebrow, she knew Carlos was talented but Audrey was one of the best cheerleaders in Auradon and had the trophies to prove it.  
“Seriously,” Evie said, while Carlos hid his face in her pillow.

Jay yawned and walked to Mal's room. Carlos was practicing with Jasmine, trying to learn their current routine before the game tomorrow, so Jay was being left to the girl's clutches. Shoving the door open Mal and Evie both stood, “come on, we're going to support a nerd” Mal said walking off towards the tourney field.  
“She means we're going to show Carlos some support”  
'What'd I say” Mal asked innocently.  
“Alright, after all, it's not like you guys have missed a practice before,” Jay said walking along with them.  
“Where's the genie?” Mal asked him  
“She had crap to do with her blog thing,” Jay said as they reached the field. He followed his friends to the sidelines, Carlos had on shorts and a t-shirt, Jasmine was dressed similarly to him.

Carlos had been surprised when Jasmine started showing him the routine, he was used to coach who never actually showed any athletic ability.  
“I don't ask the squad to do anything I can't do,” Jasmine said at his look, “unlike some other coaches at the school”.

Carlos laughed and started to stretch; tourney told him he should do that much, he still didn't see the point to it. Jasmine lead him over by the sideline, “You're gonna work off the line for this routine, next time we'll probably move you, but this way you have a point of reference for the whole thing”. Carlos nodded along as she went through the whole thing, sure it was longer but it was easier than any play Coach had tried to teach him.  
On the third run, he had perfect it. “That was fast,” Jasmine said as he finished it.  
“Audrey usually bitched about the flips, but I could probably flip from one of the field to the other, so all I really needed to learn was the order of the moves,” Carlos said as the walked over to his friends.  
“You mean across the short side?” Jasmine asked.  
“No he means one end to the other, and probably back again,” Mal said a hint of venom in her voice, she hated people underestimating Carlos all the time.  
“You remind me of Raj.” Jasmine said with a smile, “I'm just surprised, Mary practically lives to flip and can only get three-quarters of the way down the field.”  
“Well, I can go try, then we'll know,” Carlos said.  
Evie bounced off the ground, “I wanna cartwheel, just to see my distance”  
“You'll end up at the Isle,” Jay said deadpan.  
“Oh shush, you should flip with him, you know for fun”  
“I don't flip for fun” Jay protested, “it's to escape”.  
“Bull shit, that one day on the roofs we were having fun,” Carlos said with a smirk, “come on, I played tourney, we'll call this payback”.  
Jasmine laughed when Jay stood up, “How about you violet? Any acrobatics for you?”  
“Names Mal, and no, I just run,” Mal told her trying not to growl.  
Jasmine laughed again, “I know your name,” she said while walking away.

“Race you to the end!” Carlos told Jay from the line.  
“you're on” Jay laughed. He didn't like how easily the freckled boy could manipulate him, but that smile almost made it worth it.  
Evie watched the boys and seriously considered Mal's idea to lock them in a closet together.  
All three of them looked to Mal when they were ready, she sighed, rolled her eyes and let out a half-hearted shout of “go!”. All three moved, Jasmine gasped, she'd expected half-assed form and the three kids to give up at the halfway point, but they put the gymnastics team to shame.  
“How the hell do you learn things like that one the Isle?” she spoke softly.  
“Carlos found some magazines that taught them. I mean we climb the side of buildings, flips were the next logical step.” Mal said as the boys reached the end of the field, Evie close behind them. She watched Jay pull Carlos into a headlock before both boys landed on the ground play fighting. She shook her head, she had no idea how Carlos kept his crush hidden so well. If she was in that position she'd have broken a lot sooner. Not for the first time she had to admire Carlos's strength, physically he may not be that strong, but mentally he was bench pressing brick houses.

Carlos laughed as Jay landed roughly on top of him, the older boy pinning his hands over his head. Carlos leaned forward and bit his shoulder, causing Jay to shift back. Carlos smirked and shoved the older boy hard, making him lose his balance, Carlos didn't waste any time sitting on Jay's stomach and pinning his arms high over his head.  
“Truce?” Jay asked  
“Oh fine, it's not like I can actually pin you for any length of time,” Carlos said standing up, Jay close behind him. Evie was already halfway back across the field. Jay and Carlos walked back to Jasmine who had a huge grin.

Carlos leaned against the wall outside the locker room, Jasmine stood a few feet from him waiting for the girls to finish getting changed. He fiddled with the hem of his skirt, it didn't bother him what he was wearing but he had a feeling he'd be getting teased even more soon.  
“You look cute,” a voice said, Carlos looked up to see Jordan in her uniform.  
“Thanks, I think”  
“Totally a compliment,” she said with a smile, Carlos smiled back. He didn't hate Jordan, he just hated that she was with Jay, as a person she was pretty fun.  
“Are you nervous?” she asked.  
“Not at all, I've been doing most of this stuff off rooftops since I could walk, way easier than tourney,” Carlos told her.  
“Jay said you only joined tourney to shut him up, you were okay at it, though”  
“I'm way better at this”  
“You're not wrong” she laughed, by that point the rest of the squad was around them and Jasmine was calling them into formation. Jordan took her spot behind Carlos and to the left.  
“Just breathe,” she said as Jasmine signaled them into the field, Jordan watched Carlos's head turn in Jay's direction before he seemed to relax.

Mal watched her boys with a smile. Carlos had been amazing in his first routine and Jay was once again MVP. Evie squealed and hugged her as the final whistle blew. She watched the cheerleaders move to congratulate the team, Carlos had slipped to Jay's side and was talking to the thief. Jordan moved slower, she wanted to congratulate Jay, but more importantly, she wanted to watch him with Carlos.

Jay wrapped his arm around Carlos's shoulders his other hand coming up to ruffle his hair, both smiling at each other. Carlos elbowed him and said something that looked like knock it off. At that point Jay noticed Jordan, his smile changed, she'd never noticed it before but it seemed more closed and measured than how he smiled at Carlos as if he had to rather than wanted to. She filed it that information away for later, Jay dropped his arm around her, still holding Carlos with the other the walked towards the locker rooms.

Jordan stepped into the locker room until the boys went into theirs then she stepped back out and tore off into the crowds. She was trying not to use magic without need, but damn it people needed to move! Finally, she reached her target, Mal, and Evie.  
“I wanna talk to Evie, now. I don't care if you come to Mal” she said indifferent to the purple haired girl.  
Both followed her under the bleachers and away from everyone else.  
“I want to know everything about Jay and Carlos” Jordan said without preamble.  
“That's gonna take a while, they both had pretty exciting lives,” Mal said, Evie gave her a look that clearly said shut up.  
“That's not what I mean and you know it,” Jordan said. “I noticed it today, but looking back it's not new.”  
“Which one did you notice,” Evie said, Mal was trying to follow the conversation but it wasn't easy.  
“Both. Before the routine Carlos was tense as hell, once he saw Jay he relaxed, like completely relaxed. Then after the game, Jay was smiling at Carlos and when he looked up and saw me it changed, he was still smiling but it wasn't the same” Jordan said in a rush.  
“you're imagining things,” Mal said instantly  
“Add in her superhuman speed denial,” Jordan said to Evie, still not looking at Mal.  
“Carlos likes Jay, but we're not sure about Jay.” Evie said, “Mal wants to get them drunk in a closet together”  
“That's surprising, he hides it well, then again so does Jay but he may not have connected the dots in his own head. Anything I can do to help things along?”  
“not unless you wanna suggest a three-way and vanish when it starts,” Mal said, only half joking  
“I was thinking more along the lines of pointing out how hot Carlos looked in his uniform, preferably while Jay is distracted enough to give an honest opinion.”  
Mal laughed, Evie thought about it, “can't hurt anything” she finally said.  
“Perfect” Jordan smiled  
“Wait, let me get this straight, you're now plotting with us to get your boyfriend to hook up with his best friend?”  
“More or less,” Jordan said, “now if you'll excuse me I have a conversation to go set up” with that Jordan headed back to the locker rooms and slipped in, Jay and Carlos were leaning on the wall, but didn't see her they were too busy talking about something.

Jordan walked out to see the two boys laughing together, “what's the joke?”  
“Carlos wants to be on the pyramid so he can drop Audrey off it,” Jay said without hesitation  
Jordan laughed “I'm not allowed anymore because I did just that, best practice ever!”  
“I'm gonna annoy E, she said she was working on her outfits today”  
“Oh! Ask her if I can feature this batch? My blog exploded last time I had her outfits up” Jordan said.  
“Ugh, fashion, barf. I'm going to take a nap, later” Jay said walking off.  
“Later Jay, I'll ask her, I doubt she minds, though. I think she's enjoying showing off her work”

 

“Carlos looks pretty hot in his uniform” Jordan said, he fingers were running through Jay's hair while her lips teased his neck. She knew his mind would be a puddle of mush. Jay hummed an agreement. Jordan wanted to shriek that she knew it, but that would not move anything along.  
“You and Carlos ever fool around? Audrey seems to think so” Jordan asked, knowing everyone thought it, not just Audrey.  
“No,” Jay said, looking at Jordan, his brain started to catch on to the oddity of the conversation. He settled his hands on her arms, so she'd stop messing with his hair. “Why the sudden interest in 'Los?”  
Jordan smiled, right where she wanted him. “You have a choice, I answer honestly and you answer one question of mine honestly. Or I can just answer and you can hope I tell the truth.”  
“And they call me evil. I want Mal to spell us”  
“Don't trust me?”  
“Old habits, but no”  
“Text the sugar plum fairy”  
“I am never calling her that,” Jay said pulling out his phone, Mal instantly agreed and came over.

“The fuck girl, you never answer me that quick” Jay whined as Mal shoved the door open.  
“I was bored, my fucking water dumped on my painting so I had to redo it, but it's boring this time”  
“Oddball, anyway one question from each of us honestly answered by the other. Preferably without you hearing it” Jay said.  
Mal smirked, “you owe me” before muttering her spell and walking out.

“Fine, why are you so into Carlos all of a sudden?”  
“I learned something about him that made me want to try and help him,” Jordan said honestly.  
“What'd you learn? Jay asked  
“He has a third nipple,” Jordan said laughing, “the spell is for one question, that's two”  
“Bitch” Jay said, only half joking.  
“My turn,” Jordan said, looking at Jay. He was so going to hate her in a second. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips, she needed another moment to think of how to word her question. She decided blunt was best, Jay would be honest even if he didn't know the answer himself yet.  
“Are you in love with Carlos?”  
“N...” Jay started clearly trying to fight the spell, “I don't know” he finished. “Why the fuck would you ask that?” Jay asked, louder than he meant as soon as the spell forced the truth out and let him speak again.

“Same reason for my interest in 'Los” Jordan said, already pondering his response. “How do you not know if you're in love with someone?” she asked before she could stop herself.  
“Easy, I never thought about him as anything but an ally, it's the same with Mal and Evie.”  
“They're your friends,” Jordan said, Jay just shrugged.

“Okay, if you had to pick between me and Carlos, who would you pick, no need to tell me the answer”  
Jay thought that was easy, Carlos had been his friend longer and had a lot more skills than the genie.  
“Okay, I did”  
“Alright, now between whoever you picked and Evie,” Jordan said.  
Jay thought for a moment, he liked Evie alright but he was closer to Carlos.  
“Once more, between your winner and Mal” Jordan said before Jay said a word.  
“What the fuck is the point here?” Jay asked.  
“Shush and do it”  
“I did, but it's stupid” Jay whined.  
“Whatever, now take your winner and if they were going to die, would you trade your life for theirs?” Jordan said.

Jay looked at her as if she was insane, but she'd started this crazy topic so maybe she was. He thought about it, it didn't take him long to reach his conclusion, he didn't think she wanted an answer but he didn't know what to make of it.  
“We'd both die anyway. In that situation, the person I picked wouldn't live with the guilt that I'd traded my life for theirs. So I'd probably just let them die” Jay said being careful not to include a gender.  
“If it came down to your life or theirs, without over thinking it?” Jordan said.  
“Theirs” Jay answered instantly.  
“His” Jordan said. She knew who Jay had picked, but she wanted to be sure, Jay didn't deny it so she knew she was right.  
“You have some thinking to do, I'll see you around Jay,” Jordan said moving off his lap.  
“Hang on, why the hell would you start this conversation anyway. Why try to convince your boyfriend he loves his best friend?”  
“Because you're happy with him” was all Jordan offered in response before walking out the door.

Jay stared at the door for a long time. Jordan told him to think but that wasn't working at all. Why did she think he was happy with Carlos, he was happy with her, he wasn't fussy. Then the little voice in his head brought up all the times he'd held Carlos, either after a nightmare or just because they had fallen asleep together. Sure he was comfortable with the other boy, but in love, no. 

He was pulled from his musings by the door to their dorm slamming open, Carlos walked in, and headed to the bathroom. Jay noticed he had a black eye and a split lip and followed him into the bathroom.  
“What happened now?” Jay asked he was used to Carlos being beaten bloody, but not in Auradon.  
“Apparently Chad doesn't like guys that look better in dresses than him,” Carlos said while wetting a washcloth and wiping it along his lip. Jay opened the closet to get the first aid kid, he rummaged out an ice pack and activated it. Carlos took it with a soft thanks.  
“Shirt off,” Jay said, Carlos sat the ice pack down and pulled his shirt over his head.  
“Tell me that bastard had a knife,” Jay said looking at the cuts that littered his friend's torso.  
“No, just a bunch of rings,” Carlos said, he hopped up to sit on the counter before looking down at his stomach.

Jay silently tended the cuts, rinsing them with disinfectant and bandaging the worst of them. While he worked he tried to convince himself Mal or Evie would have bandaged the freckled boy up too, but he knew better. He'd always been the one to patch Carlos up, the other boy had even refused to let Mal do it once insisting he was fine despite the cut bleeding into his shirt. He'd let Jay bandage that the minute he saw the older boy. Suddenly he had a thought, Jordan had learned something about Carlos to lead to that insane conversation. Maybe she'd learned the other boy liked him. Jay shook his head and closed the first aid kit, that was even more insane than him possibly liking Carlos.

“All done,” Jay said.  
“Thanks,” Carlos said still staring at his stomach.  
“You okay?” Jay asked Carlos was being odd, even for him.  
“Just over thinking what fuck-face said” Carlos admitted.  
“He's never been right before, so I wouldn't listen to him”  
“First time for everything” Carlos argued.  
“So what'd the bastard say,” Jay asked, it took a lot to get to Carlos, after his mother he'd gone deaf to most insults.  
Carlos looked up at Jay, meeting his eyes for the first time since he'd gotten back. Evie and Mal knew it made sense to tell Jay, but making the words come out was harder than he thought it would be.  
“Called me a fag,” Carlos said letting his eyes drop back to the ground.  
“Mal has called you that at least once a day since you met her; what else” Jay prompted.  
“He told me you wouldn't wanna be friends anymore if you knew I was gay,” Carlos said quickly, half of the words running together.  
Jay took a minute to figure out what Carlos had said, as he did a small growl escaped his lips, he was going to kill Chad.

Carlos heard Jay growl and flinched, it looked like Chad was finally right about something. It never crossed Carlos's mind that Jay was mad at Chad and not him. 

Jay saw Carlos flinch and tried to relax, he wanted to kill Chad, but scaring Carlos wasn't going to do that. Without thinking he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Carlos's bare shoulders, he ignored the other boys flinch.  
“As usual Chad is wrong. I wouldn't hate you for being gay, hell I'm bi. It'd make me a bit of a hypocrite” Jay told his friend, he hadn't admitted he was bi before, but something told him not very many people knew Carlos was gay, a lot suspected it, though.  
Carlos let his head rest on Jay's shoulder, he was sure Jay was going to hate him, instead, he comforted him once again. Jay shifted so he was standing closer, Carlos's legs on either side of his waist, Carlos let his arms wrap around Jay in a hug.  
“Quit listening to assholes that don't know the first thing about either one of us,” Jay said softly, letting his hand rub Carlos's back.  
“I'll try,” Carlos said, before yawning. “Can we sleep under the window?”

Jay bit the inside of his lip, that wasn't how this worked, one of them slept under the window and the other joined in. It was never a joint decision. “Yeah, we can sleep under the window” Jay decided, he shifted away from Carlos just in time to see the other boy smile. It hit him out of nowhere, he'd do anything to see Carlos smile he tried to reason that it was because he knew he'd had no reason to smile on the Isle, but deeper than he wanted to look he knew it was more than that.

Jay tossed the blankets on the floor and laid down in his Pj's, Carlos joined him a few minutes later, his hair still wet from a shower.  
“Whatcha reading now?” Jay asked knowing Carlos was always reading one, or five books.  
“Working through Harry Potter again”  
Jay scooted back so he was leaning on the wall under the window, “grab it and get over here”.  
Both of them had read the series multiple times, Carlos grabbed the book off his table and sat next to Jay who looped an arm lazily around his shoulders. Carlos opened to his bookmark and started reading, his head leaning lightly on Jay's shoulder.

Evie gently pushed the boy's door open, she'd just seen Chad in the hall his rings and hands covered in blood while he bragged to his friends about the fight, she wanted to tell Mal but needed to check on Carlos first. She gasped at the sight, both boys curled together reading. She watched for a moment, Carlos had told her about reading with Jay, but she'd never seen Jay willing read anything that didn't include pictures. She closed the door as quietly as she could, neither boy had noticed her, she raced off to get Mal.

 

Jordan left Jay's dorm to tell Mal and Evie what she'd just wormed out of Jay. The door was answered by Mal, she invited Jordan in, Evie came up hot on her heels.  
“Oh good, I won't have to tell it twice,” Jordan said.  
“I know, chad beat up 'Los,” Evie said.  
“No, Jay's in love with 'Los” Jordan said.  
“Hold the fuck on. Evie you first” Mal said making the split second decision.  
“That makes more sense. Look I just ran into Chad in the halls, he had his hands and rings all bloody, he was bragging about beating up Carlos. I went to check on him but he and Jay are laying together under the window reading. I mean he's beaten up, but they're so far into their own world they didn't even notice the door” Evie said in a rush.  
“About ten minutes ago I left Jay after basically forcing him to admit he may be in love with Carlos. I left him alone to think, not act.”  
“Jay never thinks,” Mal said trying to piece this together.  
“I don't think he needed to think, they looked comfortable, like they've done this a lot of times before,” Evie said with a look to Mal. Mal's eyes widened as she caught on.  
“I'm still going to investigate, neither one would tell us if 'Los was really hurt,” Mal said.  
“I'll go too, I'm pretty good at fixing injuries,” Jordan said starting to follow Mal. The purple haired girl shot Evie a look, which she knew to mean 'I really need to do this alone'.  
“Stay here, Carlos is pretty jumpy if you scare him, I know he wouldn't want more people to see that and he was really lost in his own world so he'll probably startle badly.” Evie said, luckily Jordan nodded.

Carlos yawned for the third time in ten minutes, Jay shifted to grab the bookmark and dropped it in the book.  
“You're exhausted, enough,” he said closing the book. Carlos would read all night and they both knew it. Carlos put his book back and Jay laid back down. Carlos hit the light and laid down a short distance from Jay. He'd just spent most of an hour against the other boy, he knew they'd end up curled together in their sleep. With a sigh, he moved closer and let his arm drape over Jay's stomach.  
Jay smiled in the dark room, he could tell Carlos wanted to snuggle but was afraid of his reaction, after all, they could usually blame being asleep for how close they ended up.  
“'Mere. We end up really close anyway, may as well skip the tossing and turning”  
Carlos moved so he was wrapped around Jay's side, his head on the other's shoulder. Jay wrapped one arm around Carlos's back, the other rested against the freckled arm on his stomach.  
“Thanks, it's probably weird, but I like cuddling with you,” Carlos said softly. He could feel his cheeks heat up and was grateful Jay couldn't see his expression.  
“I like it too” Jay admitted just as softly, neither said anything else that night but fell into slumber together.

Mal walked out of their room, she'd suspected something would evolve between Jay and Carlos for a long time, now she just needed to hope it didn't crash and burn. Reaching the boy's dorm she thought about knocking, but decided against it and shoved the door open. She stopped halfway through the door, last time she'd come to get the boys with Ben it had been similar to the Isle, this time it was identical. Chad had beaten Carlos good, the other had a split lip, black eye, and tons of bruises and cuts to his chest. Jay was holding him, Carlos's head tucked under his chin, both boys a tangle of limbs.  
“Shut the door Mal,” Jay said without opening his eyes.  
“How'd you know it was me,” she asked, closing the door behind her.  
“Evie shrieks, everyone else knocks,” Carlos said.  
“If you're both awake why so close?” Mal asked, deciding direct would be best  
Carlos was silent, after a moment Jay answered her, “because we wanna be”.  
Mal bit her lip and moved to sit on Carlos's bed, she looked at the two boys and shook her head.  
“Whattaya want?” Jay asked when she didn't talk.  
“Evie had seen Chad bragging about beating up 'Los when she came to tell me Jordan had just come into my room with the oddest story. I won't get into that but you two need to talk about that thing that you won't tell each other.”

Jay felt Carlos tense next to him, his breathing going shallow. There wasn't much that made him react like that, Jay absently rubbed his back, hoping to calm him down.  
“We'll talk when we want Mal. Whatever you think we need to talk about can wait, at least until morning,” Jay said.  
“No, I don't think it can,” Mal said, Jay attempted to interrupt her, but she cut him back off.  
“No Jay, now you listen. Me and Evie have watched for years with our mouths shut. Use your fucking head for once and think of someone besides yourself. You need to talk about this now not later, not when you're ready, now.” She crossed her arms and glared at the older boy, she saw that Carlos was scared but when she left Jay could calm him back down, right now she needed to get through Jay's thick skull.  
“Think for a minute that maybe you're not alone in this, think how it might feel from the other side” She added softly, Jay's eyes widened and she knew her point had just gone home, while Carlos turned his head further towards Jay so she couldn't see his face at all.  
“I'll see you in the morning,” Mal said standing up, “Just talk, okay? If you need us me and Evie are here” with that she walked out of the room, letting the door click quietly behind her.

Silence descended on the room, Jay continued to rub Carlos's back, slowly the other boy relaxed a little.  
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Jay asked softly, the question had hardly left his lips when Carlos shook his head no.  
“Okay,” Jay said giving the other boy a gentle squeeze.  
“You're not gonna make me talk?” Carlos asked.  
“Have I ever made you do something you didn't want to?” Jay asked him.  
Carlos shook his head again, Jay smiled.  
“I'm not gonna start now, Mal just told me everything I needed to know”  
“Wassat” Carlos asked, still pressed against his chest  
“That I can hug you as much as I want and you won't mind,” Jay said smiling at the black and white hair resting on his chest.

“How do you figure that?” Carlos asked, not seeing how that's the conclusion the other boy reached.  
“Jordan made me answer a question honestly earlier, Mal spelled us. She told Mal and Evie how that went.” Jay paused if he was wrong things were going to get awkward as hell. “Jordan asked me if I was in love with you”. Carlos gasped softly at his side but didn't say anything. Jay swallowed and continued, “I told her I didn't know. She asked how the fuck that was possible, I told her I'd just never thought about it. She gave me some stupid questions and decided I must love you. I didn't agree until you told me what Chad said and I wanted to kill him even more than I did for hitting you.” Jay said.  
“Oh,” Carlos said softly, he was trying to keep his breathing even, there was no way this conversation was really happening. As usual, Jay seemed to understand without him saying a word.  
“Trying not to freak out?” Jay asked  
Carlos nodded against his chest.  
“You don't gotta answer, but do you feel the same?”  
Carlos was still for a long time, all he needed to do was make his head move, but he couldn't do it. Finally, he moved his head the smallest bit. Jay smiled and kissed his forehead right by the hair line, Carlos blushed but nuzzled against Jay's chest.  
Neither one said anything else, Carlos fell asleep before Jay did. Jay laid and looked at his freckled friend, a chunk of moonlight fell through the window lighting up his face. His freckles stood out against his pale skin, his hair stuck up every which way. Jay let his hand run through the short hair with a smile, he really did care for his friend. He'd never really thought of Carlos beyond a friend, but he also had never pictured his future without the other. He drifted off to sleep, still smiling.

Early the next morning Carlos woke up still wrapped in Jay's arms, he smiled sleepily, he always loved the mornings he woke up first and could snuggle against Jay without feeling like he was crossing any boundaries. Slowly the conversation from the night before drifted back to him, Jay actually liked him and he'd kissed his forehead as if it was perfectly natural.  
“What has you so happy?” Jay asked. He'd woken up to see Carlos smiling, Jay felt happiness swell in his chest he really enjoyed seeing the other happy.  
“Just thinking,” Carlos said biting his lip  
“About what”  
“Us,” Carlos said softly, he was waiting for Jay to deny anything from last night, instead Jay smiled at him.  
“So there's actually a chance at an us?” Jay asked.  
Carlos smiled, then he looked serious, “Depends, are you done dating every girl in the world?”  
“If I get to date you, sure,” Jay told him. Carlos broke into a grin, Jay smiled back at him.  
“Will I get to see more of that smile now?”  
“Anything you want,” Carlos said still smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos, criticism, just saying hi. All welcome interactions, I promise I'm not mean, just a little sarcastic.


End file.
